Kings sign Keli Leaupepe on three-year deal

The Sydney Kings are excited to announce Keli Leaupepe as their first signing of the NBL25 free agency period.

The Melbourne-born forward, who has spent the past five years at Loyola Marymount University, joins the Hoops Capital club on a three-year deal - with the final year being a team option.

He joins Koaut Noi, Shaun Bruce, Makuach Maluach, Alex Toohey and Klairus Amir on Brian Goorjian's roster for the NBL25 season.

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"This [joining the Kings] is kind of a full-circle moment for me, as my high school coach was Kevin Goorjian, who had a lot to do with my development," said the 198cm Leaupepe.

"That's where I actually met Goorj too, as he came down for a camp.

"He's obviously a legendary coach and to play for the Kings with him, just felt like an opportunity too good to pass up - not to mention it felt like the perfect spot for the next stage of my career.

"[Adding to that] I know the Kings have a strong recent history of success and I'm coming there aiming to win games and add to that, especially in front of those loud fans at Qudos Bank Arena.

"I've seen the crowds continue to grow in Sydney while overseas and can't wait to play in front of them all for the first time."

Starting his hoops career in Melbourne with the Bulleen Boomers, the now 23-year-old progressed to play for the Victorian Metropolitan state team on numerous occasions, including winning a gold medal at the 2017 under 18s national championships.

That same year, he won the Australian Schools Championship with Box Hill High and represented his country at both the Albert Schweitzer Tournament and FIBA under 17s Oceania Cup - with him winning gold at the latter.

In 2018, he won the under 20 national title with Victoria and guided Australia to gold at the FIBA under 18 Asian Championship.

Following the latter, he was invited to the 2018 NBA Asia-Pacific Team Camp, where he made the All-Star Team and was the MVP.

This led to him joining the Loyola Marymount Lions ahead of the 2019-20 US college season, which was the first of five seasons he spent there - seeing him average 10.46 points, 5.14 rebounds and 0.98 assists per game across 129 appearances for the Los Angeles-based NCAA division one university.

Highlights from that five-year tenure in California include being named to the WCC (West Coast Conference) All-Freshman Team, being named to the All-WCC Honorable Mention team in his sophomore year and finishing off his last two years as a Lion being named to the WCC All-Academic team in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

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"I've been lucky enough to play for five seasons in the WCC [West Coast Conference], which is a strong conference, playing against the likes of Gonzaga, St Mary's and BYU in the past - allowing me to elevate my game each year," he said.

"Especially getting the chance to go toe-to-toe against NBA lottery picks and professionals, which has me confident that I'm more than ready to come into the NBL and do some damage.

"[On the back of this] I feel I can bring personality and flair to the club, not to mention being that guy that's willing to dive on the ball and do the dirty work on the court - as well as toughness, rebounding and setting hard screens for my teammates.

"I know the hard work is still in front of me and feel as though Goorj and our coaches are the perfect fit to help me continue to improve my shooting, IQ of the game, post-game and become more versatile defensively."

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Kings CEO Chris Pongrass is excited to add someone of Leaupepe's pedigree and talent to the club's roster for the next few seasons.

“To be honest, Keli is someone that we have been chasing for years - to have him join us on a long-term deal is quite a significant coup," Pongrass said.

“Keli is about all the right things - he plays hard, he cares for his teammates, and impacts winning at the highest level.

"He adds another layer of toughness and physicality to our group, something we have prioritised this off-season.

“The way the game is trending, we have seen multi-positional, non-traditional bigs succeed in our league.

“I won't surprised when Keli is a Kings fan-favourite”

Stay up to date with all the harbour city club's off-season news here.